Malaysia is going down the Islamist path

Religious freedom is a natural right. Islamists do not believe in such rights. Pray for Malaysia

Atheists in Malaysia should be “hunted down” as they violate the constitution, a government minister in the increasingly fundamentalist Muslim-majority nation has said.

Shahidan Kassim, who serves in the Prime Minister’s inner circle, called on Islamic scholars to re-educate non-believers.

Apostasy is not a federal crime in Malaysia, but critics say the country’s increasingly conservative trajectory is threatening religious freedoms.

“The [Federal Constitution] does not mention atheists. It goes against the Constitution and human rights,” Mr Kassim said during a press conference.

“I suggest that we hunt them down vehemently and we ask for help to identify these groups.”

The MP for Arau, a town in the far north of Malaysia close to the border with Thailand, said atheists were “misled” and claimed they “don’t want to be atheists but it happens because of the lack of religious education”.

Mr Kassim called on “all muftis [Muslim religious scholars]” to “return them to the faith”.

Faith can never be compulsory. Any religion that forces people to accept its tenets is a failed religion. As I said pray for Malaysia, and every other place where Islamists are forcing their “religion” onto others. Such coercion is inherently evil.